American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2015 - 200

The Presidential Papers
administrative assistant, moved on to pursue other opportunities and be closer to
family. We bid them farewell and wish
them the best.
Also in 2014, we hired Lyndsey Kleven
to help with membership communication
and Shawn Bennett as senior vice president. To them we say: Welcome aboard
and roll up your sleeves. There is plenty
of work to be done.
I speak for our entire membership
when I say to all the longtime dedicated
staff that we appreciate your hard work
and dedication. (We really do appreciate
each and every one of you!)
Seeking Resolution
Politically, 2014 was a wild year. HB
375, which was OOGA's contribution to
the severance tax debate, passed the
House and subsequently died in the Senate.
It was a good bill that addressed not only
the rate-2.5 percent of the total value of
a well's energy production-but also considered cost recovery and post-production
costs. The post-production cost provision
is some of the best language we have encountered and we hope it will be implemented when this issue is resolved.
We fully expect the severance tax debate will return in 2015. We are prepared
to discuss the merits of a fair tax policy
that encourages development and will
not deter investment from coming to our
state. Given the state of commodity prices,
it is almost a blessing HB 375 did not
pass the 2014 Ohio General Assembly.
HB 490, which dealt with a myriad of
issues, some of which were very important
to many of our members, also passed the
House and died in the Senate. One of our
key issues, unitization, was embedded in
HB 490. Regulators have subjected unitization order hearings to an unusual delay,
and we hoped to provide a time frame in
which the state must act, whether in the affirmative or negative. However, the bill
was caught in the minutia of other issues
that kept it from passing the Senate. It was
very disappointing to leave this issue unresolved. I can assure you that OOGA will
make this issue a top priority for 2015.
Engaging Our Members
We have continued to make very important modifications to OOGA's committee structure. For many years, our
members were simply happy to know
the association was advocating on their

behalf in Columbus and Washington.
They wanted to drill wells and left the
dirty work to the association.
Those times are changing, and we are
changing with them. We are going to
make sure members are more involved
in our processes. Updating our committees
will allow OOGA to incorporate more
member input. This will help ensure we
address all of our members' interests
more cohesively.
Also in 2014, we began initiating
monthly conference calls to better inform
our trustees. Rapidly changing events
within our organization and the statehouse
demand a better flow of information. It
is very important to keep members apprised of the association's work on their
behalf. We are excited to implement this
change for 2015.
Based on events that occurred in the
northeast part of the state, we have formed
an induced seismicity work group. This
work group is composed of representatives
from many of our shale producers. We
have contracted with a renowned expert
in this area to assist in the endeavor.
Brad Bacon of PDC Development has
agreed to chair that work group. It is
very important that we let science, not
emotion, dictate policies regarding induced
seismicity. By bringing experts to Ohio
from around the country, we hope to
make sure any rules or regulations address
the science and not the hysteria.
On a very exciting note, Ohio is seeing
conventional legacy producers begin to
drill horizontally in conventional formations, all with successful results. Thank
you to these pioneers, Enervest, NGO
Development and Buckeye Oil. It is ingenuity such as this that keeps our independents providing jobs and energy to
this great state.

A New Era
Like longtime OOGA Executive Vice
President Tom Stewart, I am one of many
who has been very concerned during the
last several years about the "graying" of
our organization. Let me assure you, that
has changed. Our organization has new
talented, smart, aggressive, young people
stepping up and assuming leadership
roles.
I am writing these comments one day
after our December 2014 board of trustees
meeting. I wish each and every OOGA
member could have been there. Oh my,
what an emotional roller coaster.
Tom Stewart stepped down as executive
vice president and will continue to serve
OOGA as a policy consultant. Shawn
Bennett now will serve as executive vice
president.
Tom Stewart has guided the OOGA
ship for more than two decades, and to
say that he has done a magnificent job is
a glaring understatement. Tom's service
to our association has been nothing short
of stellar. Anyone who spends time with
him at the statehouse quickly realizes
how greatly legislators from both sides
of the aisle respect Tom Stewart.
I have traveled with Tom across the
country to many oil and gas events.
During discussions about issues of national
importance, all eyes in the room turn to
Tom Stewart and everyone wants to know
how OOGA is handling it.
Tom, you have devoted your entire
life to promoting and protecting the Ohio
oil and gas industry. Your dedication and
passion for this industry are unparalleled.
On behalf of all of the 3,200 members
of this great association, we will forever
be indebted to you.
Thank you very much, Tom Stewart,
and job well done!
Ì

Eclipse Resources Brings Utica Shale Wells On Line
STATE COLLEGE, PA.-In the fourth
quarter of 2014, Eclipse Resources Corp.
brought six operated wells on line in its
Utica Shale acreage. In its operations update, the company did not identify the
wells or disclose their locations.
Initial results from the wells have been
encouraging, Eclipse says, and appear to
be consistent with its type curve expectations. The company reports its initial
estimate of production for November was
130 million cubic feet a day equivalent,

200 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

representing a 52 percent increase over
its average daily production in the third
quarter of 2014.
"Eclipse is continuing to methodically
execute our plan. Our team is efficiently
developing our acreage and meeting our
timeline, cost and production objectives,"
says Benjamin Hulburt, the company's
chairman and chief executive officer. "We
continue to be pleased with the initial
performance of our liquids/condensatetype wells."
r

American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2015

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